Between certain models, the Dell Inspiron and the Dell Latitude had interchangeable motherboards, had the same integrated graphics, and sourced the same LCD panel. But the actual 'same-ness' is irrelevant in this case - the real issue is my impression that I'm going to get 'ripped off' if I don't sit down for hours and compare their entire product lineup every time I want to buy another Dell laptop.

That's a terrible customer expectation and experience vs. Hey, I want an Apple laptop. Oh, I want the Macbook. Look, it's $999 + some basic options. Done.

I was once told that the 'home' and 'small business' sections of the Dell website were managed by different internal business units which set their prices independently. Thus, an identical laptop would differ not necessarily (though sometimes) in base price, but in add-ons, included options, free upgrades, or bundles.

I recently purchased a monitor from dell and they definitely have different prices for home, smb and government.

It's the same monitor, same model number and the same specs.

They also seem to have different discounts in different segments.